As medical image acquisition systems become more prevalent, many healthcare experts, such as radiologists and physicians, face the problem that the time available for the examination of the images decreases. Consequently, there is a growing need for diagnosis support systems to assist in the examination.
For ease of storage and retrieval, medical images are commonly collected in databases which may take many forms, such as local folders on a computer system, accessible to individual users or to multiple users, or the more widespread PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System). The ability to search the databases and retrieve relevant medical images therefore becomes increasingly important.
The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the figures.